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New campaign to combat child poverty in Wales

Save the Children is launching a new campaign asking for donations to help fund its work tackling child poverty in Wales.

It's estimated that 200 000 children here live in poverty, 90 000 severely. It's the first time the charity has begun a nationwide public fundraising appeal asking for assistance with its UK schemes.

A study conducted on behalf of Save the Children found that in Wales more than half of the children surveyed in low-income families say they are concerned that their parents are finding it harder to pay for everyday necessities - such as food, heating and clothes.

A quarter of parents on low incomes admit to skipping meals so their children can eat. More than a third say their lack of money means their children can't have friends over for dinner.

Parents are making every effort to get by and protect their children from money worries, but you cannot hide a lack of food on the table or no warm winter coat or shoes for your children. The burden of struggling to get by is putting families under immense strain and this research shows that over half of Welsh children are worrying about their families being able to make ends meet.

– James Pritchard, Save the Children in Wales

Krista Lane from Cardiff has benefited from a Save the Children scheme. The 'Eat, Sleep, Learn, Play' programme provided her with a chest of drawers for her son Jamie's clothes and educational toys for her daughter Nevaeh.

The charity hopes that donations from the campaign will help them extend the number of families they are able to reach through their UK schemes.

Our Tackling Poverty action plan prioritises the needs of the poorest and protects those most at risk of poverty and exclusion. We are investing significantly in programmes that tackle the root causes of poverty and aim to improve the lives of those in poverty, such as expansion of integrated family support services, early intervention through Families First and our key commitment to increase investment in Flying Start.

However, our ability to reduce poverty in Wales is clearly dependent on actions taken by the UK Government - their budget cuts, welfare reforms and tax proposals are all likely to have a negative impact. The current economic and financial climate make it even more important that we retain our commitment to tackling child poverty by prioritising the needs of the poorest and protecting the most vulnerable.